Brother Xue Came at Just the Right Time

Ning Rongrong arrived very early.

Chen An had just finished breakfast and was about to hang his apron back on the wall when the little girl was already waiting outside.

Seeing him heading back toward the stove, Ning Rongrong hurried inside after him.

"We agreed we'd go find Papa first."

"I'm getting some clothes."

Chen An felt rather helpless. He had already agreed; did she think he could run away?

Still, seeing how afraid she was that he would get busy again, Chen An did not delay. He went back to his room, changed, and went with her to find Ning Fengzhi.

When they arrived, however, the person waiting outside told them that the sect master was receiving a guest.

Ning Rongrong stopped and peered inside.

"Who's here?"

"His Highness Xue Qinghe."

At that, she immediately brightened again.

Brother Xue! That made things easy.

But Ning Fengzhi was still speaking with Xue Qinghe, so neither of them barged straight in. They waited outside for a while, only entering after someone came out to summon them.

Two cups of tea sat on the table. Xue Qinghe was putting away something Ning Fengzhi had handed him, and a smile appeared on his face when he saw the two children.

"We were just talking about you, and here you are."

"Brother Xue."

Chen An greeted him. Ning Rongrong had already walked up to her father and reached out to tug his sleeve.

"Papa, Brother Chen An and I want to go out and play."

She did not beat around the bush, stating her purpose as soon as she opened her mouth.

Ning Fengzhi was amused.

"Xiao An only started cooking again yesterday, and you're already whisking him away today?"

"We're not necessarily going today. We came to ask first."

This time, Ning Rongrong remembered clearly. Yesterday, Chen An had said they would ask first. When they could go still depended on whether the elders were free.

Chen An added,

"Uncle Ning, I promised Rongrong before that I'd go out with her once we'd hunted down my Soul Ring."

"Since you promised, of course you should go. Sit down first. We'll ask Uncle Jian when he gets here."

Hearing that Ning Fengzhi did not object, Ning Rongrong immediately relaxed and sat beside Chen An.

Xue Qinghe's gaze settled on Chen An.

He had arrived early today and had just learned from his teacher that this child had already obtained his second Soul Ring and reached rank twenty-two in Soul Power.

At their last meeting, he had not even reached rank twenty. Now, seeing him again, he was already a Soul Grandmaster.

Thinking back, their first meeting had only been a little over half a year ago.

Among his peers, such a rate of improvement was truly difficult to overlook.

"Congratulations, Xiao An. My teacher said that Senior Sword Douluo accompanied you this time?"

"Yes. Grandpa searched for two days before finding a suitable one."

"With Senior looking after you, naturally everything was in safe hands. Still, you've progressed even faster than I expected."

Xue Qinghe spoke gently, without going on to ask about the details of his Soul Ring or Soul Skill.

Since Ning Fengzhi was willing to tell him these things, he was not treating him as an outsider. But when it came to a Soul Master's own abilities, even curiosity required a sense of boundaries.

Chen An smiled. Naturally, being praised to his face put him in a good mood.

He had kept plenty busy over the past six months. He had not neglected his work at the stove, nor had he slacked off in his cultivation. Now that he had obtained his second ring, those dishes further down the road were finally a little closer, too.

But those were still a long way off. He would first focus on doing well with what he already knew.

They chatted for a while before footsteps sounded outside, and Chen Xin arrived.

Xue Qinghe rose to greet him. Chen Xin gave a slight nod, then looked toward the two children.

"You certainly know how to pick your moment. Breakfast was barely over, and you were both gone."

"Grandpa Sword, we came to ask about going out to play."

Ning Rongrong hurriedly repeated what Ning Fengzhi had just said, making sure to add one final sentence.

"Papa already said yes."

Amused, Chen Xin looked toward Ning Fengzhi. Seeing him nod with a smile, he said nothing more.

He had only taken Xiao An on the Soul Hunting trip, leaving Rongrong waiting at home for several days. Now that the two children wanted to go out for a stroll, it was hardly a difficult matter.

"I'm free tomorrow."

At those words, Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.

With Grandpa Sword accompanying them, their outing was settled.

But when it came to where to go, she could not make up her mind for the moment. She had been to Heaven Dou City before and wanted to explore it again, while Chen An thought a walk outside the city would be nice, too.

After spending so long in the Kitchen and his room, a change of scenery and a look at the mountains and waters would be better than remaining cooped up in the sect.

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe thought of a destination.

"If you're in no hurry to go shopping, how about I take you to look around Heaven Dou Royal Academy tomorrow?"

Heaven Dou Royal Academy?

Chen An's interest stirred.

He was naturally familiar with that name, but since coming here, he had never visited a Soul Master academy.

Most of the Soul Masters he usually met belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He had never actually seen how an academy taught its students or how it had students with different Martial Souls cultivate together.

Ning Rongrong was interested, too, though she still hesitated a little.

"If we go, will we have to stay there for lessons?"

She wanted to go out and play, but she had no intention of not even coming home.

Xue Qinghe shook his head with a smile.

"I'll show you around, and we'll come back later in the day. If you wanted to stay, I'm afraid you'd have to get past my teacher first."

Ning Fengzhi smiled at that, too.

"For now, the sect is still the right place for Rongrong's cultivation. The same goes for Xiao An; he should build a solid foundation under Uncle Jian first. But going out to have a look is fine."

At this point, he looked toward Chen An.

"Xiao An, do you want to go?"

"Yes."

Chen An answered without hesitation.

He also wanted to see how other people used food-type and support-type Soul Skills.

Seeing him agree, Ning Rongrong no longer hesitated.

"Then I'm going, too."

Xue Qinghe looked toward Chen Xin. Seeing that the Sword Douluo had no objection, he took charge of the arrangements.

"When I return today, I'll have someone notify the academy. I'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain tomorrow morning. It's different from the city-there's plenty of space, and quite a few places suitable for a stroll. Rongrong won't get bored."

"Sorry for the trouble, Brother Xue."

"No trouble. Just treat me to another meal whenever you have time."

His words carried a smile, and Chen An smiled as well.

"Why wait? Stay for lunch today. I happen to be making shrimp."

"It's a dish Xiao An just learned. None of us got to try it yesterday."

Ning Fengzhi chimed in from beside them, then sent someone to the Kitchen with instructions to prepare more food for lunch.

With everything settled, Chen An and Ning Rongrong returned to the Kitchen first.

On the way, the little girl regained her usual liveliness, asking one moment whether the academy had children even younger than them, then thinking about the shrimp for lunch the next.

Her questions left Chen An at a loss.

"I've never been there either. Won't we find out when we see it tomorrow?"

"Then we'll eat shrimp first today."

Having said that, Ning Rongrong laughed.

Permission for their outing had been granted, so now she could finally wait for her meal in peace.

At noon, Xue Qinghe did indeed arrive with Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin.

Chen An did not stew another pot of Soul Skill soup. He prepared ordinary dishes, with the Longjing shrimp he had promised to save for Rongrong coming last.

The fresh shrimp had barely left the wok before Ning Rongrong picked one up. After chewing twice, she reached out with her chopsticks again.

She had listened to Uncle Zhou talk about it at length yesterday, but only after tasting it herself today did she learn what that tea fragrance paired with shrimp tasted like.

Even the tea leaves she normally barely wanted to touch became delicious mixed into it.

Xue Qinghe took a bite and was somewhat surprised as well.

The meat dishes he had eaten here before had left a deep impression on him. He had not expected that even with such a light preparation, the food would still make him reluctant to put down his chopsticks.

"So tea can be used this way, too."

He picked up another shrimp and savored it carefully before looking toward Ning Fengzhi with a smile.

"Teacher, it seems you'll have to stock more tea here from now on."

"If he's willing to cook, would I begrudge him a few tea leaves?"

Ning Fengzhi replied with a smile, serving his daughter some rice as he spoke.

"Eat slowly. Finish what's in your own bowl first."

Only then did Ning Rongrong withdraw her chopsticks and lower her head to eat, though she still cast plenty of glances at the shrimp on the plate.

Amused, Chen An pushed over the small dish he had saved for her and finally found time to sit down himself.

Lively though it was, the meal did not take too long. Xue Qinghe took his leave after eating, arranging tomorrow's meeting place with Chen Xin once more before departing.

Everyone had their own plans for the afternoon.

Ning Fengzhi had to return to sect affairs, while Chen Xin told the two children to cultivate as usual and said he would take them out tomorrow.

Chen An naturally had no objections, but before returning to his room, he went to speak with Uncle Zhou.

"Uncle Zhou, I won't be here at noon tomorrow. Sorry to trouble you with the Kitchen."

"Go enjoy yourself. I'll be here."

Uncle Zhou agreed readily. Fang Ming, on the other hand, looked up from where he had just finished washing the dishes.

"Xiao An, you're going out again tomorrow?"

"To look around the academy. I'll be back later in the day."

"Oh, that's all right, then."

Fang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

During those days of Soul Hunting, he had at least known Xiao An was attending to serious business. No matter how much he longed for his cooking, he could only wait. This time, he would only be out for a day, which would not be too hard to endure.

It was just that he would certainly be missing that midday meal again.

Uncle Zhou glanced at him and scolded him with a laugh.

"What, is my cooking inedible?"

"It's edible, of course it is. I'll come help tomorrow, too."

Fang Ming hastily agreed.

He meant it sincerely, too. Uncle Zhou looked after them often enough. Greedy for good food though he was, he was hardly so ungrateful that he could not remember even that kindness.

Listening to the two of them talk, Chen An felt considerably more at ease.

With Uncle Zhou looking after things, he really did not need to worry about everything while he was away for a day.

He cultivated as usual that afternoon. When evening came, Chen An laid out the clothes he would wear for the outing and checked his storage belt.

They would not be entering the forest to hunt Soul Rings this time, so there was no need to bring a heap of pots, bowls, and pans.

He had just packed clean water and a clean hand towel when Ning Rongrong's voice sounded outside again.

"Brother Chen An, don't oversleep tomorrow morning. I'll come wake you."

The little girl ran off as soon as she finished, evidently having come over just to remind him.

Looking toward the doorway, Chen An could not help laughing.

Did she really think cooking was all he thought about every day?

Having lived two lives, this would still be his first visit to a Soul Master academy. He was just as curious himself.